That photo’s making my eyes go funny Peter...Smooth looking front, but does appear to have the BIL / HAL raked roof shape otherwise I'd have thought it to be an EPB... Could it be an EPB with a shadow on the roof, I wonder?
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That photo’s making my eyes go funny Peter...Smooth looking front, but does appear to have the BIL / HAL raked roof shape otherwise I'd have thought it to be an EPB... Could it be an EPB with a shadow on the roof, I wonder?
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It could also be a pre-war suburban unit, the last of which ran in service in around 1960.Ref the "longer" emu...Very difficult to say from the blurred image. I initially thought 2 BILs. I remember them being coupled up together, as many as 4 sets. 2HALs are also a possibility, lots of them moved over from the SE division when EPB type stock became the norm there, l think in the mid 50s.
One of the older 4 SUBs? Yes certainly. I have an idea that they were called Queen Marys. The 405/1 SUBs of course had a flat frontIt could also be a pre-war suburban unit, the last of which ran in service in around 1960.
None of the EMUs have small yellow warning panels either, so it can't be later than about 1962.
Thanks all for your replies.
It’s from a 1962 film on signal engineering.
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Here’s the link for it on YouTube:



Great link - thanks - good thread too has emerged!Thanks all for your replies.
It’s from a 1962 film on signal engineering.
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Here’s the link for it on YouTube:
There’s some great footage on that film that shows the old hitting up against the new (relatively speaking).
I love all the shots that you get in those sort of films of a group of boffins staring at some plans and gazing wistfully into the middle distance imagining it all coming into life...
Welcome to the forum by the way.

It's on Disc 1 of Volume Eight "Points and Aspects" of the DVD reissues by the BFI, published in 2008.Great link - thanks - good thread too has emerged!
I'd not see that BTF film before - good to know it is on line as I don't think it is on the BFI commercially released BTF DVD film compilations......
Great - thanks - of course I'd not actually checked that before posting carefully, so appreciate the correction! I'll edit my post.It's on Disc 1 of Volume Eight "Points and Aspects" of the DVD reissues by the BFI, published in 2008.
If I'd seen that film while still at school in 1962, I might have had a rather different career!
Thanks for the correction; the photo is not very sharp on my screen,and I could not see enough detail.It is not a Merchant Navy - their plates were round and mounted on the boiler. Judging by the style of the crest above the nameplate it is a rebuilt West Country so it is after June 1957 when the first was rebuilt...
The 5 chain link opened in July 1865. See: London Waterloo station - Wikipedia about 3 paras into the 'Expansion' section.Looks like the link was removed in 1911 according to Kent Rail as well:
Looks like a Battle of Britain to me, the West Country had a red scroll under the crest with the name of the town. This one seems to be blue and have a different shape to the name part. Rather pedantic of course as they were the same class in reality.It is not a Merchant Navy - their plates were round and mounted on the boiler. Judging by the style of the crest above the nameplate it is a rebuilt West Country so it is after June 1957 when the first was rebuilt...
Fred Dibnah, I assume?Right I’m going for 1st August 1959 10:12am and Fred was driving the Bulleid...![]()
Yes! I didn't see that before. I think the last augmented 3-car sets were withdrawn 20 January 1962.At 2:01 filmed trackside, just after the steam departure there is another Local arrival with a pre-war set including a 6-a-side "augmentation" trailer. A few of these lasted till 1962

Yup. That's the Chislehurst Junction signal box you can see.At 5’ 03” is that chislehurst junction, before more of the lines were added?
Fred Dibnah, I assume?
-Peter
Thanks all for your replies.
It’s from a 1962 film on signal engineering.
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Here’s the link for it on YouTube:
I spent many an enjoyable hour watching his stuff during lockdown. He's long been someone I've been fond of - his attitude to his work, his love for all thing steam, and his projects. Maybe a thread to share peoples' favourite examples of his work would be a nice idea sometime...?I suppose it shows my age by knowing who Fred Dibnah is, and remembering the tv series which propelled him to fame. An unlikely star, but a very watchable series, or number of series. (Apols for being off topic)

It's immediately recognisable as Waterloo. There was/is a tall block of flats that was a favourite spot for still and film photographers. Not much later than late 1963 as no yellow panel on the SUB. Certainly before late 1964 as there is a 4COR with white opal headcode box for stencils (all CORs & BUFs has roller blinds fitted by then)
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Not sure what 'flat fronted' means in relation to the SUB; all the SUBs from the 1925 SR types, via the Shebas (4101-4110) to the Queen Mary (4111 onwards) were bay- or bow-fronted, although the Shebas had a domed roof over the cab. Having viewed the video in full screen, the EMU formation entering Waterloo to the right of the emerging steam loco is formed of a 1944 type Sheba 4SUB at the London end coupled to a 1946 type Queen Mary 4SUB.
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Interestingly at 02:06 there is an unusual QM style SUB showing headcode 57 which looks like it has a Sheba-style canvas roof (see the gutter at cantrail position). Can't quite see the unit number. Could be 4111. I've been hunting for a picture of one of these.
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I'd have thought it's earlier than that, from the extent of the bomb damage to the building on the left. Although there were still bomb sites around in the 1950s and maybe early 60s, I think that sort of damage would have been repaired, or the building demolished, before then.
There were significant bomb sites right in the middle of London up until at least the 1980s, before they were re-used for anything other than an area of gravel to park cars on. Bombed-out buildings obviously didn't last until then, but once they were pulled down, some of the the fenced-off sites lasted - pretty much untouched - until something was built on them in the 1980s.
I agree that cleared sites lasted much longer, but I'm still surprised that the building would have been left derelict but standing right alongside the railway for maybe fifteen to twenty years (since it's now been established that the film dates from 1962). However unless the damage was the result of a later fire, as another post speculated, it presumably must have been.There were significant bomb sites right in the middle of London up until at least the 1980s, before they were re-used for anything other than an area of gravel to park cars on. Bombed-out buildings obviously didn't last until then, but once they were pulled down, some of the the fenced-off sites lasted - pretty much untouched - until something was built on them in the 1980s.